Improvisation is a core aspect of this global confluence of this eclectic musical activity. Initially used to describe jazz and its offshoots, improvised music now encompasses a broad spectrum of formats-from computer music and multi-media collaborations to string quartets, bebop bands and multiethnic fusion.

Improvisation is spontaneous interaction between musicians from the most disparate backgrounds, dissolution of boundaries between performers and listeners, and access to the transcendent dimensions of creative experience. Improvisation is at the heart of a new musical paradigm that uniquely reflects contemporary life.

Musical improvisation sheds light on creativity in many fields, as corporate executives, educators, athletes, medical professionals and other practitioners recognize an improvisatory core to success and fulfillment in their respective disciplines. ISIM brings together artists, listeners, teachers, industry professionals, and researchers, to further the growth and understanding of improvisation in our educational systems and society at large.

The International Society for Improvised Music is excited to be joining the Free Music Archive community as a curator. Our work promotes performance, education, and research in improvised music, and illuminates connections between musical improvisation and creativity across fields.

For this first post, we're sharing a variety of live recordings from ISIM members, from Kevin Norton’s band at the 2012 ISIM Conference at William Patterson University to Jon Rose’s field recording bowing the wire fences of the Australian outback, from the unlikely sonic song forms of Theresa Wong's solo work to the robust large ensemble music of Oliver Lake, with University of Michigan's Creative Arts Orchestra, recorded live at ISIM's second annual conference at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

ISIM's first post on the FMA features a variety of live recordings from ISIM members, from Kevin Norton’s band at the 2012 ISIM Conference at William Patterson University to Jon Rose’s field recording bowing the wire fences of the Australian outback, from the unlikely sonic song forms of Theresa Wong's solo work to the robust large ensemble music of Oliver Lake, with University of Michigan's Creative Arts Orchestra, recorded live at ISIM's second annual conference at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.